macbeth (all flashcards)
fair is foul and foul is fair
paradoxical. appearances can be decieveing and that what is fair to the witches is foul to mankind and what is fair to mankind is foul to the witches, alternatively, it could be interpreted as what people think is fair is foul and what people think is foul is fair. it also links to an idea that banquo introduces to macbeth, saying how „The instruments of darkness tell us truths / Win us with honest trifles / to betray’s
In deepest consequence“ and duncan „There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face“ and goes on to say he built „an absolute trust“ in the Thane of Cawdor who betrays him, he is a trusting person by nature even though he understands that he cannot decipher someone’s true intentions by looking at their face, he does not let this make him suspicious of others though and goes about his life in bling trust that ends in his death as well as he trusts Macbeth who ends up to be traitor. it also shows that the witches are of something not human, otherworldly, they go against what is humane and what is ethical, moral to mankind. they do not submit to want humanity seems to deem as righteous and adide to their own rules. the witches speak is trochiac meter which is different to the iambic pentameter the other characters speak in, showing again how they are different, significant and non-human. fricative sounds of „f“, you bear you teeth (like you’re going to bite them) which is a sign of aggression therefore these words being said by the witches can be suggested as them being aggressive or foreshadowing aggressive in the play, as these are the first sounds of the play, it suggests that aggression and violence will play a large role in the outcome of the play. or the trochaic tetrameter, stressed, unstressed, unstressed, very childlike. they are portrayed as supernaturally sister and perhaps shakespeare is undermining the belief in witchcraft by implying that the witches are childish and that they way they behave is immature, almost belittling the significance of witchcraft on the jacobean era culture and society, also he implies that the witchcraft and scale of it are fantastical, not because it‘s amazing but because they are childlike fantasies.
the witches first entrance
we are met with the witches at the start of act 1 scene 1 and we understand that they have done something and finished with it, but we do not know what. we are met with enigmas, and throughout the play we will never seem to understand the true scope to their power or understand their true potential. this vagueness allows the audience to create their own interpretations on the witches. the fact that the play starts with the witches suggests that the witches play an important role, they are the catalyst of everything that happens in the play.
supernatural - contextual ideas abt the witches
in the jacobean era, the concept of witchcraft was heavily believed in and was punishable by death. king james at the time himself was a believer in witchcraft and was said to gave sent approximately 4000 witches to death in scotland. macbeth writes about what is culturally significant at the time, increasing his revenue and ensuring that society would have an interest in such play. therefore, interpretations of the witches in the jacobean era could have placed a higher importance and power in the witches than they may have actually had as their hatred for witchcraft could suggest that to them, the witches could manipulate the future to fit into their prophesies, dooming macbeth to a tragic fate of falling victim to his “deep and dark” desire. in turn, making his more sympathetic. due to the lack of belief in witchcraft and the fact thatnot even 200 years after the jacobean era, laws around witchcraft had changed to where it wasn’t even punishable by death anymore but rather just a jail sentence for on average, one year; more modern-day interpretations on the witches could be that the witches could not shape the future to fit into their cunning plan, but rather all they did was recite a prophesy, not willing macbeth to do anything at all —> act 1 scene 3 “his bark cannot be lost yet it shall be tempest tossed” the witch does not have the power to kill the sailor, only disrupt his journey and cause harm to the sailer using the power over the waters and the winds, this suggests that the witches do not genuinely have a significant power and the fact that the witches have a leader, hecate, who is the “mistress to all your charms”, therefore implying that the witches do not have that much significant power over reality and instead the way macbeth reacts after meeting the witches reveals more about him than the witches themselves.
macbeth and banquo - foils
“our captains macbeth and banquo” “they were as cannons overcharged with double cracks” act 1 scene 4 banquo is “noble” act 1 scene 2 macbeth is “noble”. here they have almost the same position, they are in the same place, fighting against the same people, both highly respected, loyal, fierce, warriors of high courage, and yet, the way they react to the witches first prophecy in the play are contrasting each other, revealing the true intentions and desires underneath macbeth and banquo. the meeting with the witches emphasises macbeth’s “vaulting ambition” his desire to become king, to be the most powerful there ever could be, the effect meeting the witches had on macbeth changes the trajectory of his future forever and he incidentally starts a path of destruction, power, desire after being “startled” by the witches. on the other hand, banquo is neither fearing of the witches or believing them, he is wary about what they are trying to say or trying to do, in the end not letting what they say take ahold of him “i neither beg nor fear your favours or your hate” and staying indifferent to appearance of the witches in his life. however, another interpretation of banquo could be that even though at the initial meeting of the witches, the impact that the witches made on him caused him to have “cursed thoughts” and in turn giving his sword to his son after having “dreamt last night of the three weird sisters”, implying that there is a possibility that he didn’t trust himself not to do evil things. yet if this interpretation is true, there is a sense of free will that is still present even after meeting the three witches, suggesting that macbeth had chosen to on his path of violence willingly. in act 3 scene 1, banquo says that he believes something foul has occurred for macbeth to gain his new position as king, and yet he does not say anything about it nor does he accuse macbeth of regicide, this could be because he believes that he could benefit from macbeth’s new position who in act 2 scene 1 told banquo to “cleave to my consent” which means to stay loyal to him as it his new power would be beneficial to banquo too, however ultimately, banquo’s morality and goodness is what costs him his life, as when macbeth agonises over his decision to kill banquo, he says that banquo’s “wisdom that doth guide his valour” and thereby acknowledging that what he fears about banquo is his wise and good nature which results in his valour. both represent different concepts and sides of human nature, banquo is good and macbeth is evil, and this paradox in humanity cannot coexist, one must exist and one must cease to live. even so, banquo is not all great, his actions could be seen as bad, but he is still seen as overall more good than macbeth. banquo highlights macbeth’s downfall, even if he is not a black and white character. both are imperfect, both do bad deeds, both do good, yet their overall characters are seen to be opposing, making them the perfect foils for each other
macduff + macbeth
structurally, macduff appears right after the death of king duncan, suggesting that there is a significance to macduff and his role in what occurs after the king’ death, he is ultimately the one who avenges duncan. he is also a foil to macbeth. macbeth is the one who turns his back on the peaceful equilibrium that was present in the country and in society, he purposefully breaks the societal norm and causes chaos to put himself in power, whereas macduff restores societal peace and harmony, reestablishing the equilibrium and putting the patriarchal system back to how it used to be. macduff represents the correct choices and actions one should take, macduff is the most morally right character in the whole play, he is the one who sacrifices all that he has to see society be balanced and restored, he is the one who sacrifices everything to see the rightful heir on the throne. if macbeth is disgraced in the eyes of god, macduff is graced in the eyes of god, macduff is the one who doesn’t turn his back on heaven. his deepest concerns lie with his country: “bleed, bleed, poor country” and “o’scotland, o’scotland” the repetition emphasise macduff’s desperation and loyalty to his country, repeating words is also symbolic to despairing and it implies that seeing the state of scotland, it has put macduff is a despair and great desperation to put things back the way they were. when malcolm ‘tests’ macduff by saying that when he is on the throne he will “poor the sweet milk of concord into hell” and “confound / all unity on earth” macduff says that malcolm is not “fit to govern” and even “not to live”. macduff is the harmony restorer, he sacrifices everything and does his all to bring back peace. he is the ultimate peacemaker. macduff’s dedication to his country makes macbeth’s disregard for it even more prevalent and emphatic. when macduff is informed of his family’s murder, he swears to take revenge but unlike macbeth and lady macbeth, who both demand the heavens to look away from their deeds, macduff asks upon heaven to be part of his goal to save the country, avenge duncan, and take revenge for his family. this implies that what macduff strives for is heavenly and in the view of god’s eyes, showing that his further actions in the play are morally righteous. macduff and malcolm are on the side of heaven, whereas macbeth and lady macbeth are not. if macduff is the one who opposes macbeth fully, yet equal in strength, he is the only one fit to fight macbeth in the end. macduff never once flees, or submits to macbeth, instead he is the one who challenges him head on. macduff and macbeth are similar in the sense that they both take their futures into their own hands, and never leaves it up to chance, but both are on opposing sides.
stars hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires [act 1, scene 4]
macbeth is asking the stars to hide his ambition, his fiery desires, he looks upon higher beings to help him hide what he is ashamed of. he feels embarrassed by having these desires to become king and he wishes to not go through with them. this quote shows his initial innocence, his initial despairing due to his feelings of desire for things he knows are unrighteous and morally incorrect. shakespeare uses the contrast of “light” and “black” to emphasise that the “light” is good, the “light” is the harmonious society, the society that works in tandem, balance, equilibrium and that macbeth’s desire is “black” the deepest shade of sin, the utmost unrighteous want, the most unheavenly wants. black is connoted with evil, eeriness, the supernatural. it is the colour that when light is not shone through it, things can be hidden, there is an unknowing aura to the colour. light is connoted with heaven, purity, innocence, peace, harmony, it is the opposite of macbeth’s sinful desires. [juxtaposition]. the juxtaposition also introduces macbeth’s conflict within himself. alliteration of ‘deep desires’ emphasises the way these sinful desires are rooted inside of macbeth, hidden away and are far into his core. it all reestablishes the belief that the kings at the time were put on the throne by god and it was their divine right to be there and have that power, macbeth’s desires goes against the teachings at the time and it emphasises how his desires are sinful and opposing to the divine righteousness that one is ought to follow. macbeth is already making his first fatal error by considering the witches prophecy and overthinking about the hidden desires within him.
vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself / and falls on the other [act 1, scene 7]
“vaulting” suggests that his ambition is stretching beyond what he understands and he is fearful of his own ambition, it is his hamartia, his fatal flaw, and it is leaping beyond what is healthy, what he knows he can manage. not even macbeth understands the true scope to his ambition. and this emphasises his ambition and makes it more prevalent to his character, it is what causes his downfall in the end. [hyperbole]. he does not have control over this ambition, and the one who is in true control of his ambitious qualities is lady macbeth, who is going to help guide him to becoming king. he has met the witches but it is still not enough to make him be able to kill duncan. the witches are not omnipotent supernatural creatures, but just foreseeing the future, they are not in control of anything, their only power over macbeth is the ability to feed him half-truths and tell him his future. alternatively, macbeth‘s true harmatia can also be interpreted as being lady macbeth, as his tragic flaw in this case would be his love, and his desire to please lady macbeth, for lady macbeth as lady macbeth is the one who is able to convince him to go through with the murder. this quote tells us that macbeth‘s ambition is simply not enough.
is this a dagger i see before me / the handle toward my hand act 2 scene 1
in this soliloquy, macbeth is experiencing a hallucination. he sees a dagger in front of him with its handle toward him, inviting him and pulling him in to submit to the urge of killing duncan. the handle towards his hand is in a sense not giving him any choice but to make the decision that is to kill duncan and to give in to his sinful desires. the hallucination foreshadows his actions in the future, his bloody, violent, murderous future. the paranoia, guilt, and conflict he feels visits him in this hallucination, it is the hallucination that will set his future in stone, that will bring to light what he feels he must do, what is inviting him to do.
“fatal vision” “false creation” act 2 scene 1
he questions whether the hallucination he sees is the effect of a prophetical vision coming to him, showing him his future or what he must do to be where he desires, or if the hallucination he is experiencing is due to his “heat-oppressed brain”. he acknowledges in this soliloquy that he is losing his mind, that he is on the brink of becoming insane, completely riddled with conflict, paranoia, guilt, shame, he is constantly overthinking everything, and the more he thinks about the murder, the more the murder becomes a choice he is likely to make. he knows that he is losing it, that his mind is fevered, but he does not know if this hallucination is a vision or not. he des not know that his future will also be riddled with violence.
soliloquy act 2 scene 1 overall analysis
his conflict, guilt, paranoia is affecting him to the point where he is reaching the very line between sane and
insane. he hallucinates a dagger in front of him which is inviting him to commit sinful deeds. the dagger in front of him foreshadows the path that will define his future, one full of violence and blood. it not him, but the dagger that guides him, implying that although he takes action to ensure that the prophecy spoken to him become words of truth, it not truly his self that is guiding him but violence and murder which is the real leader. “nature seems dead” could refer to the nature of macbeth, his kindness that lady macbeth doesn’t like “too full of the milk of human kindness”, that is dying and becoming deader as he loses his mind. or the nature of society and the regularly patriarchy falling and turning into chaos due to the hands of macbeth. he is scared of the nature of the world, or christianity, turning on him.
“when shall we three meet again? in lightning, thunder or rain” act 1 scene 1
3 witches. 3 fates. 3 linked weather features; you usually have lightning with thunder and thunder with rain. lighting thunder, and rain are also chaotic, they are depressive, angry, and here they are used as a way to incorporate pathetic fallacy into the play. it foreshadows a dark ending, it foreshadows the tragedy that follow.
“when shall we three meet again? in lightning, thunder or rain” act 1 scene 1
3 witches. 3 fates. 3 linked weather features; you usually have lightning with thunder and thunder with rain. lighting thunder, and rain are also chaotic, they are depressive, angry, and here they are used as a way to incorporate pathetic fallacy into the play. it foreshadows a dark ending, it foreshadows the tragedy that follow.
“my dearest partner of greatness, that thou mightst not lose the dues of rejoicing, by being ignorant of what greatness is promised thee. lay it thy heart and farewell. to have thee crown’d withal”
here macbeth could be interpreted as manipulating lady macbeth to form a plan for him when he returns home. the word “greatness” is used two times and it places an emphasis on the power lady macbeth would receive in addition to macbeth’s kingship. here, he is promising lady macbeth power and status and he understands that this what lady macbeth wants as well. macbeth is acknowledging that lady macbeth cannot gain status without him and he knows that he cannot go through with his sinful desires without her, so in this letter he uses both their weaknesses to manipulate lady macbeth into forming a plan for him and doing the more cunning work for him. he tells her that the power that will be given to her as well as him is promised and he also gives her the promise of loving her and giving her his heart to see her crowned as well as him. the pronoun usage “thy”, “thou”, “thee” although formal in modern-day use it was more intimate in the time of shakespeare. therefore, macbeth could be seen as using love, status, and promises to manipulate lady macbeth into helping him. in turn, lady macbeth is almost the most dutiful wife, which was an ideal trait for women of the time. the love also does not come first in the letter, it is implied to be dependent on lady macbeth gaining power too. after reading and receiving the letter, lady macbeth begins to mimic macbeth’s language by using the pronoun “thou” and the word and concept of “great”, this shows that they are in alignment, they are bounded ad they agree with each other.
“come, you spirits / that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here / and fill me from the crown to the toe top full / of direst cruelty; make thick my blood / stop up th’access and passage to remorse”
in order for lady macbeth to become powerful enough to go through with such a sinful plan, she must unsex herself and be rid of all femininity. here, it is suggesting and being implied that femininity is the ultimate weakness, it is emotional and full of remorse, the femininity is what stops lady macbeth from being great, powerful and high in status. this also links to the patriarchal system of the time, women could not be powerful on their own, they could only be powerful by their husbands, but they still didn’t have full control over their autonomy, they were still weakened by societal ideals. lady macbeth decides that she needs to ask for help from the spirits to become a dominate, powerful, assertive being to gain what she wants and what macbeth also wants. she wants to be full of the worst cruelty and be rid of all remorse so she cannot feel the guilt and weight of her actions, again confirming beliefs at the time; women could not be strong, powerful, or dominate that was a masculine job, and women couldn’t do that as it was not seen to be within their nature, so lady macbeth must breach away from nature to be strong enough to go through and make a plan to kill duncan. fixated on status as she uses the word “crown“ to refer to her head. also it is implied that if women appear to be more dominant, to be more powerful that is a sin and evil-doing, hellish one might say. also showing king james what makes a good king. failed pregnancy, failed wife in society
had he not resembled my father as he slept
she is saying that if she had not seen her father in him, she would’ve been able to kill him. it suggests that she had been unsuccessful in getting rid of all her femininity and no matter how much she tries to be rid of all her feminine traits, she is still a woman in a society controlled by men and she still is controlled by the manly figures in her life, taunted by the men she had had in her life.
